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Guitarist and violist John King has composed music for opera, theater, orchestras, chamber ensembles, rock bands, dance and film, and was Music Curator at New York City’s The Kitchen from 1999-2003. He has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Ethel, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Mannheim Ballet, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, the Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. In March 2010, King and the Crucible Quartet released 10 Mysteries on Tzadik, which features 11 exquisite pieces that practice and explore the idea of “trilogic unity.” ANW had an opportunity to speak with King about 10 Mysteries and the new work he will be performing at Philadelphia Art Alliance on November 5.

Can you explain the idea of “trilogic unity” that motivates 10 Mysteries?

I had begun to explore different ways of organizing sound in some earlier pieces, but with 10 Mysteries these ideas came together in a distinct way. I would have an idea for a certain structure and I could compose these materials in a very fixed way. Within some of these parts, I would allow for chance operations to determine things like pitch sets or rhythmic elements or dynamic shapes. I would also allow for different improvisations "directions" which are given to the different musicians to be determined using chance. I would then leave areas of the piece to be improvised by the players, and when and for how long they improvised was left open. I tried to include equally musics which were fixed, which were created with chance and which were spontaneous.

How does the practice of “trilogic unity” allow the ensemble to explore new spaces between composition, improvisation and chance that would otherwise remain concealed?

I wanted these areas of composition, chance, and improvisation to have no clear start-or-end points. I wanted them to blend and merge seamlessly. The players follow independent paths which, on occasion, come together at times and in ways which are unplanned and unknown until that moment. This allows the players to play "with purpose, without intent.”

What is the relationship between 10 Mysteries and the I Ching?

I don't use the I Ching per se, but use the operation of coin tosses/die rolled/random numbers based on the non-repeating sequence of π (pi), etc. These random numbers are then used to generate pitches/dynamics/etc.

Can you tell me about Kosmos? Will you be performing sections from this in Philadelphia?

Kosmos will be a 2-3 hour long string quartet which I am currently working on, and because of its nature, I could not make an excerpt of such a piece. I have instead included a world premiere of a piece, BArACkoBAma, using the musical letters of the President's name to create melodic cells, which evolve and transform during the piece. I've done this with another recent piece for piano for mErCECunninGHAm. A kind of tribute or present. (B=Bb, H=Bnatural in musical nomenclature). John King and the Crucible Quartet will be performing, with an opening set by Jessica Pavone’s Songs of Synastry & Solitude, on Friday, November 5 at Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 S. 18th Street).

Over the past decade, guitarist and composer Mick Barr has released countless recordings under the names Ocrilim, Orthrelm, and Octis, and has worked with Krallice, The Flying Luttenbachers, Zach Hill, Weasel Walter and Sam Hillmer of Zs. His lightning fast guitar style and singular approach to the instrument goes unrivaled among his contemporaries, leading Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) to claim that “He is our Coltrane.” In preparation for Barr’s concert at Kung Fu Necktie on Thursday, November 4, where he’ll be sharing the bill with the Phillip Greenlief-Trevor Dunn Duo, ANW managed to pull the prolific guitarist away from his axe long enough to answer a few questions.

You’re putting out tapes, CDs, CDRs, LPs, and 7”s at an alarming rate under your various monikers. Tell me about some of your most recent releases.

Yes, this year has been a bit overly busy for releases, but mainly because I'm sick of sitting on old recordings and I needed some food money. The first thing I released this year was a triple CDR set under the Ocrilim moniker. I hand made these to order. It contained three separate albums recorded in 2007. The albums were Ixoltion, Sacreth and Hymns. Then there was the Brave Grave #2 cassette. This is a series of tapes curated by 905 Tapes based in Wilmington, DE. The concept is to have one performer play his/her instrument for as long as they can and then release the entire, most likely flawed, performance. Mine came out to be about 80 minutes of solo guitar shredding. I also self-released a CDR of this once the tapes sold out. Next was the Neerdeth CDR reissue, and Neerdeth Version 1. Neerdeth was a solo guitar album I recorded in 2006 and originally released in 2007. Neerdeth Version 1 was the original recordings that were never fully released. There was also an Octis CDR reissue of a 2003 recording Diemos Extractions. And there was an Orthrelm retrospective CD released by Weasel Walter's ugEXPLODE label. This CD contains the classic 2001/2002 recordings in our first phase of the band where we vehemently opposed repetition. Then came another release from the Ocrilim moniker, Absolve, which is a droney black metal raga of sorts. Also my new band Oldest released our debut CD. Me and Nondor Nevai released an album of improv war metal as well called Labyrintha under the moniker of Barr-Nevai, also on ugEXPLODE. Way too much.

Where do you do most of your recording and what’s the process like?

Almost everything I do is composed in advance, but occasionally I do a little improvising. Not much, and not much on my own. I do most of my solo recording at home on my laptop or 4-track. For the most part I record everything plugged in direct, as I don't have any amps to play through, or space to play loud. I try to do as little editing as possible, although I usually like to double track everything. Then, if I can afford it,
I'll take my primitive recordings to Colin Marston's Menegroth, The Thousand Caves studio in Queens and have him re-amp the signals and work his studio magic on them. I don't have the best ears for mixing and mastering, so I entrust these things with him.

Elliott Sharp recently asked you to contribute a song to hisI Never Meta Guitar compilation alongside guitarists like Mary Halvorson, Nels Cline, and Raoul Björkenheim. How do you think your style of guitar playing and sound fit in with these players?

Yes, I was very excited to be a part of this compilation. It was strange to listen to the entire compilation in its sequence and then to hear how my piece fit with everything. I kind of felt like it stood out like a sore thumb, to be honest. It seemed really jagged and harsh compared to everything else, but I guess not in a bad way. One of the best compilations I’ve ever been included on.

I read on your blog that you recently put out a collaborative record with drummer Brooks Headly, and you’ve also worked on several other collaborative projects over the years, including with Sam Hillmer of Zs and Weasel Walter. Do you have any collaborations planned for the near future?

There are a few possible collaborations on the horizon. Me and Nondor Nevai plan to make an all out assault of a recording at some point. Been talking, planning, and jamming with drummer Dave Witte. I’m in an improv trio with Tim Dahl of Child Abuse and Kevin Shea of Talibam!. We did a bunch of recording earlier this year that will probably be released at some point. Krallice just finished recording our third album and we will probably make another record at some point. Might do a show and recording with Chuck Bettis soon. Then there's an old recording I did with James Plotkin and Tim Wyskida that is very slowly coming together. A bunch of others are still just in the talking/thinking stages. I’m also working on finishing a string quartet. I would really like to get more into composing for other instruments as I've been feeling less enthused about performing much these days. I like playing shows, but just not that often right now.

What should we expect for the Philadelphia show?

A newer solo guitar set that's about 35 minutes long, part of which is the track from the INever Meta Guitar compilation.

Do you have a favorite jazz musician or album?

When it comes to jazz, I mainly stick to the original free jazz heavyweights and Weasel Walter. Interstellar Space by Coltrane and Rashied Ali is probably my all time favorite jazz album.

Mick Barr will be performing on Thursday, November 4 at Kung Fu Necktie (1248 N. Front Street) with the Phillip Greenlief-Trevor Dunn Duo.

Bassist and composer Michael Formanek has worked with many leading North American and European jazz musicians over the span of his 35 year career, including Stan Getz, Marty Ehrlich, Evan Parker, Dave Burrell, and several ensembles with Tim Berne. His new quartet with altoist Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver premiered at The Stone in 2008 and just released their debut record, The Rub and Spare Change, on ECM. They’ll be playing Philadelphia for the first time on Thursday, October 28, and ANW was able to catch up with Michael to ask some questions about this exceptional new ensemble and record.

You’ve worked with Tim, Craig and Gerald frequently in the past. What about their individual voices compelled you to assemble this quartet and how did you compose the pieces with the unique voice of each in mind?

I’d worked most frequently with Tim in the past, and enough with Craig and Gerald separately to know that I wanted to play more with both of them, and that I wanted to play with them together. First, it was the fact that they all have such individual voices that also happen to resonate with me. Individually, they are all amazing musicians of seemingly infinite skill and depth. Collectively, they are all capable of giving themselves up completely to the idea of group expression. It’s the combination of these qualities that made them the only choice for this particular project.

What do you think these players and the new album contribute to the ongoing dialogue between improvisation and composition? How are you blurring or articulating this duality?

Is there a dialogue going on about this? If so, great! This is not a new idea, and if in some small way my music and recordings contribute to furthering this as an ideal, I’m very happy about that. Tim has been doing this very thing since well before I started playing with him, and his music has influenced my aesthetics in that area, both consciously and unconsciously for many years now. I think that the same is true of Craig and Gerald. The fact is that when it comes down to it, as far as I’m concerned, improvisation is composition, and composition is improvisation. They really are one in the same. In composition where there is no improvisation most, if not all, aspects of the music can be controlled. In improvisation the only parts that can be controlled are your own musical choices. In music that involves both composition and improvisation the challenges are fairly obvious. How to balance one’s ideas, whether they are simple seeds of musical ideas or fully formed musical statements, with the spontaneous individual or collective aspects of improvisation and the personal approaches of the players is the problem that most jazz composers have been attempting to solve for many years now. I think that Duke solved those problems quite well, as did Mingus, and so does Berne.

Did you enter the sessions with strong blueprints for the pieces or was it a more organic, collective process?

The pieces that I brought to these sessions were a mix of very specific and somewhat sketchy pieces. In all cases, though, my intention was for the pieces to not be completed until they were performed. I never wanted to have to sense that they were really done until I heard them played by this group. So, yes, there were strong blueprints, and yes, it was an organic, collective process.

The sound quality is a perfect mix of crisp and raw elements, which is a departure from the overproduction found on many jazz recordings nowadays. How important was it for the final product to sound the way it does rather than any other way?

Sound is always important to me, but we’re constantly forced to compromise when it comes to the sound of our music. The recording studio can sometimes give us the most clarity, the most appealing instrumental sounds, and the most accurate balance. What may sound over produced today is simply the difference between something that is “produced” as opposed to something that’s just “documented.” There’s a place for both, and for everything in-between those extremes. In the case of The Rub and Spare Change we recorded the music in a small studio in northwestern New Jersey, with a very experienced engineer, Paul Wickliffe. But, we mixed the CD with Manfred Eicher at Avatar in New York with James Farber, who has recorded and mixed many ECM recordings. It was really amazing to see how Manfred approached the mix, and found details in the music that were buried very deeply in the musical fabric, and then found ways to bring them out and to add some air into the sound of the recording. This was a very collaborative recording on many different levels, and I feel that the CD has an overall sound that is inviting and enjoyable to listen to.

Will the quartet be performing pieces that didn’t make the record for the Philadelphia show?

There may be a couple of other pieces, but we’ll mostly be playing the music that we recorded for these October dates. We’ll be doing more in the spring, and will be adding quite a bit of new music.

There’s a good chance the Phillies will be in game 2 of the World Series the night of the concert. Why should people come see the Michael Formanek Quartet instead of the game?

(1) Much better music than at the ball game. (2) Our performance can’t be recorded and watched on their Tivo’s later on, while the ball game can, and (3) No steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, at least that I’m aware of.

Clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer Andy Laster has been involved in New York City’s jazz scene since the mid-1980s, when he relocated upon completing studies at Seattle’s Cornish Institute. Since then he has worked with musicians such as Julius Hemphill, Hank Roberts, Cuong Vu, and Erik Friedlander. In preparation for this week’s performance by his Sounds of Cairo ensemble – featuring Curtis Hasselbring on trombone, Alex Waterman on cello, and Kermit Driscoll on bass – Ars Nova Workshop asked Laster a few questions about this exciting project.

Who are some of the composers whose work Sounds Of Cairo perform, and what about their work and the larger cultural world of the time motivate the project?

Most of the pieces are by Dawud Husni and Zaki Murad, transcribed from recordings from the 1920s. French record labels such as Zonophone and Odeon did a booming business in Egypt, even prior to World War I. Egypt led the Arab world in recording technology and much of Cairo’s middle class owned gramophones, making these early twentieth century recordings commercially viable. I was drawn to Husni’s and Murad’s music because of its intense, bluesy tang and to the light sound and feel of their ensembles. Husni and Murad were part of Cairo’s vibrant Karaite Jewish community, which thrived until the 1960s. Karaite Judaism is a sect that accepts Torah but not Talmud or Mishnah. As a Jew, this aspect further piqued my interest.

How did you select the instrumentation for the ensemble and in what ways does it differ from how these songs were traditionally performed?

The instrumentation of my ensemble is very different from that of a traditional ensemble, which included a few singers, a zither, fiddle, and sometimes a flute. My ensemble includes trombone, cello, bass and clarinet/saxophone. I chose trombone because of its vocal quality, cello because of its warmth and ability to sound full and natural pizzicato or bowed, and bass because it provides the forward propulsion especially necessary in a drummerless ensemble.

How faithful to the original compositions are your arrangements?

The original songs are in the Dawr style of chant alternating with refrain. These were secular songs, performed in men's clubs. The lyrics were often risqué. I am purposefully unfaithful to the original compositions, having added contrasting sections and composed structures that are more suited for today's improvisers. The biggest area in which I was not faithful is regarding the use of the maqām. Arabic music uses different modes and scales than Western European music and I believe it is nearly impossible to successfully intone these modes unless one has grown up in an Arabic musical environment. I do believe, however, that it is possible to capture the feel and spirit of these original recordings without playing themaqām, plus add something original, modern, and improvisatory along the way.

Andy Laster’s Sounds of Cairo will perform a free concert on Thursday, October 21 at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street).

Henry Rollins has been a fiery tongued advocate for independent music and creative culture since he was the frontman of seminal hardcore band Black Flag in the early 1980s. He has since released numerous solo music and spoken word albums, written several books on travel, politics, and music (including Get in the Van: On The Road with Black Flag, the audio version of which earned him a Grammy Award), hosted The Henry Rollins Show on the Independent Film Channel, and currently hosts a radio show on KCRW and is a regular columnist for Vanity Fair and LA Weekly. In the early 1990s, Rollins started a record label and publishing company called 2.13.61 as an outlet for his work and others. Among the label’s catalogue are three albums by composer and pianist Matthew Shipp: Critical Mass (1995), Zo (1997) and The Flow of X (1997). Knowing his deep knowledge and appreciation for jazz music – check out his recent contribution to JazzOnline’s Miles Davis podcast – Ars Nova Workshop asked Rollins to share some thoughts on Shipp. Here’s what he had to say:

“It is listening to Matthew Shipp’s work that has always been a reminder to me that real Jazz music, no matter how refined or complex it can be, relies primarily on guts. Jazz, invariably, is a visceral and raw endeavor, often making Rock music seem soft in comparison. For the player and the listener, alike, it is a total experience.

Matthew Shipp and his work have fascinated me since I first heard him many years ago. His originality and approach sometimes stretches the limits of what is considered Jazz music yet at the same time, describes perfectly the fierce freedom of it. It is always great to encounter such honesty in music. You know it when you hear it and it has a natural appeal but also carries a warning that you will have to deal with it on its terms. I don’t think Matthew has any other way of going about it.

Matthew is not only a brilliant Jazz pianist, he is a true artist and visionary. He is really taking it somewhere. I remember when I first met him, the quiet intensity of the guy was a halting reality check. Polite, soft spoken and completely unstoppable. To watch him play, the physicality of the man meeting the instrument is as full on a performance as I’ve ever witnessed.

I have encountered many musicians in my life and many are inspired and worthwhile but rarely are they so forcefully driven and honestly inspired as Matthew Shipp. Again, it’s coming from the guts, it’s the real thing.”

"Unless played very quietly, analytical thought is thwarted while Merzbow noise occurs, and even at quiet volume, there is still a jaggedness in the cutting, the bursts of sound, the alterations, that hinders the development of analysis," writes Paul Hegarty in his chapter on Merzbow from Noise/Music: A History.

In 1923, Dadaist Kurt Schwitter commenced his decade-long Merzbau project, for which he erected massive, cavernous structures throughout six rooms of his house in Hannover, Germany. The rooms underwent constant transformation such that yesterday's labyrinths vanished and were distorted as more additions were made, more "junk" collected.

Hegarty compares Merzbow with Schwitter's Merzbau, arguing that both "accumulate to distort," paradoxically realizing formlessness through the excess of form. Merzbow's magnitude disrupts the harmonious dialogue of faculties required for a smooth and calm aesthetic judgment, pushing out into the darkest corners of the sublime. Further, Merzbow noise exacerbates the already fragile attempt to verbally articulate the meaning(s) of sound. Merzbow's perpetually shifting, expanding and abrasive sound structures simultaneously challenge tranquility and the elusive quest for permanence while producing a physically-engaging sonic experience like no other.

Merzbow performs with Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi, with an opening set by Philadelphia-based Buchla Music Easel master Charles Cohen, on Monday, September 27 at International House (3701 Chestnut Street). Be sure to arrive early, as coffee and vegan food items will be available from Philadelphia's noisiest vegan coffee shop, Grindcore House.

For his new album, Silent Movies due out on Pi Recordings this month, guitarist Marc Ribot states that he’s exploring “the strange area between language and spatiality that exists partly in between music and visual image, and partly as a common property of both.” While he’s worked on several film scores in the past, such as Martin Scorsese’s The Departed and Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law, this recording is his first intensive investigation of an issue that has fascinated him throughout his long and diverse career.

Ribot’s inspiration for Silent Movies came after a New York Guitar Festival performance in January 2010, for which he presented a live score for Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 silent film, The Kid. Prior to technological developments in the late-1920s, live (and mostly improvised) scores frequently accompanied and enhanced the visual experience of moviegoers. While Ribot is revisiting this fascinating tradition, his objective is to interpret the down-and-out struggles of the Little Tramp and the Kid as a contemporary tale whose social and political message has value to present day audiences. By approaching the film as a living text, Ribot shows the power music has to historically recontextualize images and their meanings.

Whew! We kicked off the first week of the new season with five amazing performances: Jesse Kudler and Ian Fraser’s electronic and laptop minimalism, Fennesz’ profound and thunderous sonics that pushed the International House’s sound system further than we thought possible, Sleepthief’s spiraling improvisations that lingered between delicacy and fever, and a two-night 70th birthday celebration for Dave Burrell with William Parker and Sabir Mateen, who provided a blistering tenor saxophone interpretation of “Happy Birthday” as we brought out Dave’s cake!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this busy first week! For those who missed the shows, be sure to check out Nick Millevoi’s All About Jazz review of the Sleepthief performance here and David R. Stampone’s Philadelphia Inquirer review of the Burrell shows here.

After just a few days off we’ll be heading to The Rotunda this Thursday, September 16 at 8pm, for a free performance by The Nu Band. Mark Whitecage, Roy Campbell, Joe Fonda and Lou Grassi have been working as a quartet since 2000, and subsequent years have seen them release 4 albums while keeping up with national and international live dates. Their 2009 Porter Records release, Lower East Side Blues, is a hard-bop romp that showcases the rich influences and talents of these four veteran jazz players. The last time The Nu Band played Philly was at the Plays and Players Club on August 16, 2000, and we’re very excited for this 10 year reunion show!

On September 9 and 10, Ars Nova Workshop will present two back-to-back nights of performances at Philadelphia Art Alliance to celebrate the 70th birthday of legendary jazz pianist Dave Burrell. For this very special occasion, Philadelphia-based Burrell will be playing with bassist William Parker and native Philadelphian and multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, flute, clarinets) Sabir Mateen. These three artists have worked together on several occasions, including with Parker's The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield project.

Since he began making music in the 1960s, Burrell has continued to be one of the most significant composers, pianists and jazz innovators, ceaselessly pushing the limits of the jazz category and sharing his love of music with audiences around the world. He is one of the most celebrated and influential artists of the post-Coltrane free jazz continuum, and has worked with a long list of jazz luminaries including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Sunny Murray, and Sonny Sharrock. His singular approach to his instrument, namely the way he radically challenges traditional modes of piano playing and expands the instrument's capacities, has influenced contemporary avant-garde artists across genres and disciplines. Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, whose debt to Burrell is evident through his aggressive and oftentimes improvisational guitar-playing, once stated on the pages of Grand Royal Magazine that Burrell's Echo is the greatest free jazz record of all time.

Please join us tomorrow and Friday night for these two fantastic performances as we celebrate the life and work of this great artist, especially in a space as intimate as the Philadelphia Art Alliance, which will allow us to deeply experience Burrell's superb musicianship.

In a 2008 interview following the release of the group’s debut album on Intakt Records, Ingrid Laubrock articulates Sleepthief’s sound: “There's a mysterious, dreamlike feel to some of the music—and also you can be torn right out of it. But in a wholly improvised situation it's not only your own imagination, ears, taste buds and emotions that guide your playing, it's also those of the other musicians.”

Since late 2006, saxophonist Laubrock, pianist Liam Noble, and drummer Tom Rainey have been creating sonically diverse music that emphasizes process and space, shifting seamlessly from delicate, minimal phrases to powerful, chaotic blowouts. While producing dense labyrinths of raw sound that unfold unpredictably like an uncensored dream, the three players oftentimes drift out into their own improvisational spaces. Yet, as Laubrock claims, they manage to maintain a robust collectivity, always concurrently open to each other’s movements and the erratic impulses of the dream. The result is an abundant world of sound that invites the listener to wander and encounter its numerous and colorful pathways.

Ars Nova Workshop is a Philadelphia nonprofit jazz and experimental music presenting organization. ANW informs, inspires, and challenges listeners to elevate the role of jazz, improvisation, and experimental music in contemporary culture. ANW events provide a forum for discourse, emergent trends in contemporary music, and unique forms of cultural exchange, while nurturing a diverse community for innovative music.